Photos at two locations on wedding day?? Can't decide!

Panda01 · March 2011

Hi all! We are getting married in October, and our ceremony and reception are both being held at a location that I don’t think is a really a great photo location – it’s a nice banquet hall/reception hall area at a hotel, and it’s a nice venue, just not a striking place that will be an awesome backdrop for photos. My photographer has said that for many of the weddings they shoot, they go to an alternate location for some of the photographs before the wedding. Have any of you done this, or are planning to do this? I figure if I’m paying a bunch of money for a photographer, I may as well go someplace where I can get some really cool photos. However, the locations I’m thinking of would be close to 30 minutes from the ceremony site, and I’m afraid of the drive time eating into the day too much – I have my photographer for 8 hours. I can’t decide if this is a good idea, or if it will just add extra stress and one more thing to do in an already busy day! Additionally, the added drive time may cut into time available for "getting ready" shots. Which would you rather have - professional getting ready shots, or group photos in a great location? Thanks in advance for your help!

~mRm~ · March 2011

Having photos taken at an off site location is pretty common. Working out the logistics can be a little stressful, especially if you are planning on doing them between the ceremony and reception. It's becoming quite popular to do a "reveal" where the bride and groom meet somewhere to have a first look at one another, and photos taken during that time of both them and the bridal party.

What is your day timeline? When are you starting your ceremony and reception? If I were in your situation (and time allowed) I would probably take a few "getting ready" shots and then move to another location to do a reveal, along with group bridal party shots. I would then head to church for the ceremony and photos immediately afterwards with family and bridal party. This will also prevent a huge gap in time between your ceremony and reception.

HTH

Panda01 · March 2011

Thanks for the input! The wedding isn't until 7pm. It'll be a pretty quick ceremony, and the ceremony is at the same location as the reception. We were going to do maybe a 30 minute cocktail hour in a foyer area while the room is rearranged for the reception.
We are definitley planning to do a "first look" and get some pics of him and I, as well as bridal party pics done before the ceremony. However, i hadn't considered waiting for family pictures until after the ceremony (during cocktail hour). I had originally planned on doing those beforehand as well, but waiting would save some time beforehand and allow me to still get some getting ready shots in as well. That's a good suggestion - thank you!
I'm leaning towards the second location if i can squeeze it into the schedule!

karileevr · April 2011

Talk to your photographer too, my photog went out before our wedding day and scouted for locations near our venue to cut down on time and we got some of the most incredible shots! She found a location within 5 minutes of our venue so the whole thing only took about 30 minutes. If your photog can't scout, you can too! I went out searching for what kind of photos I wanted, and her and I agreed on two locations. Most great photographers will take the time to help you with this. Good luck!

Photos at two locations on wedding day?? Can't decide!

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